For such a remote place, we are surprisingly well connected! Driving to Kyleakin from Inverness takes only 1.5 hours, Glasgow is 4 hours (as is Aberdeen). For info, I can drive from Kyleakin to London in 12 hours, but maybe that's just me :-))
Due to tourism in the area, the number of buses, trains etc. increase during the summer season (usually April to October)
There are two main road routes to Kyleakin. First is
the A82 from Glasgow, up Loch Lomond, through Glencoe and Fort William turning off at
Invergarry onto the A87 to Kyle.
Second is down the same A82 from Inverness down Loch Ness, turning off onto the A87 at Invermoriston. There is another alternative route, but this is more remote and in places single track. This is via the A835 out of Inverness towards Dingwall and onto Garve. At Garve turn off onto the A832/A890 through Achnasheen. Great scenery in summer but not recommended in winter. In summer time, the roads don't really get blocked up with traffic, however tourists drive SLOWLY! Some of them are soooo slow, it it really annoying for locals to get stuck behind :-) The worst locations are down Loch Ness side and Loch Lomond. Get stuck behind a caravan there and you may be there for some time...
There are daily busses to/from Inverness and Glasgow run by Scottish Citylink. More information may be found on their online timetable. Telephone 08705 505050.
Car hire from the usual national companies are available in Inverness and Glasgow unfortunately none of them have offices here on Skye. Ther eis a local car hire available from Kyle Taxis based in Kyle of Lochalsh or from Portree Coachworks based up in Portree. For the adventurous, you can hire a BMW motor bike from Skye Motorcycle Hire.
Skye has a limited transportation if you don't have your own transport, but there are some good inter-island bus services. The Glasgow/Inverness bus continues up the island to Portree and Uig. There are also some smaller bus services. Rapsons run a lot of the inter-island busses, including between Kyleakin and Armadale.
First Scotrail run trains from Inverness down the scenic Kyle Line to Kyle of Lochalsh - across the water from Kyleakin.
Telephone 08457 484950 for details of all rail services
Valid until 18 May 08.
Monday to Saturday
| From Inverness | 0853 | 1052 | 1815 |
| To Kyle of Lochalsh | 1120 | 1325 | 2047 |
| From Kyle of Lochalsh | 0725 | 1159 | 1648 |
| To Inverness | 0957 | 1429 | 1919 |
Sundays
| From Inverness | 1118 |
| To Kyle of Lochalsh | 1346 |
| From Kyle of Lochalsh | 1517 |
| To Inverness | 1745 |
Although there is a small airstrip at Breakish on Skye, there are no commercial flights to the area. The nearest main airport is at Inverness. From there, FlyBe fly to London Gatwick, Glasgow as well as Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis. Also, low-cost carrier Easyjet do flights between Gatwick and Luton airports by London and now between Bristol and Inverness.
Alas, there is now no longer a ferry between Kyle and Kyleakin since the extortionately priced Bridge opened - luckily the tolls on the bridge have now been REMOVED, you can travel across the water between Kyle and Kyleakin for FREE. People can, however still get the Over The Sea to Skye Experience by taking one of these ferries:-
Glenelg to Kylerea
In 1773 when Johnson and Boswell left Glenelg, this was the main ferry route.
Glenelg is a village on the mainland across from Skye. To get to it, turn off the A87 main road to Kyle at Shiel Bridge, approx. 16 miles before you get to Kyle. The small ferry which runs across the Kylerea Strait has a turntable does not hold many cars and takes about 5 minutes to cross. The ferry, run by Roddy Macleod, is seasonal and ONLY runs during the tourist season (approximately Easter till October). The ferry goes to the village of Kylerea on the south east edge of Skye. The road from Kylerea is NOT suitable for nervous drivers and people with caravans should take extreme care. The road is a windy, single track with lots of sheep who specialise in playing games with tourists by jumping out in front of them to see who can make them swerve off the roads (they hold regular competitions between competing flocks and score marks out of 10 for the best crash...). This road rejoins the main Kyleakin to Broadford road beside Breakish airstrip.
| 20 March - end Sept | Every day 10am to 6pm |
The crossing takes 5 minutes and will run every 30 minutes when quiet or 15 minutes when busy.
| Pedestrian | Bicycle | Motorbike | Car + 4 pax | |
| Single | £1.00 | £1.50 | £5.00 | £8.50 |
| Return | £1.50 | £2.00 | £6.00 | £15.00 |
For regular users, a 6 journey ticket for car plus up to 4 passengers can be purchased for £25.00. Caravans or trailers are charged £3-4 extra depending on size.
To get to Glenelg on the mainland, turn off the A87 at Shiel Bridge.
To get to Kylerea on Skye, turn off the A87 between Broadford and Kyleakin at the Broadford Airstrip.
For further details, Tel +44 (0)1599 511302............................Fax +44 (0)1599 511477
Visit the Skye ferry website on http://www.skyeferry.co.uk/
Mallaig to Armadale
Caledonian Macbrayne still run a ferry between Mallaig on the mainland and Armadale at the southern tip of Skye. To get to Mallaig turn off to the west from Fort William. You can also catch a train from Glasgow to Mallaig. Further details on the ferry is available on Calmac's main website is on www.calmac.co.uk
TRAVEL CONNECTIONS
Scotrail train service between Glasgow and Mallaig
Regular daily coach services between Fort William and Glasgow, Edinburgh. For details contact Scottish Citylink Coaches (Tel. 08705 505050).
Copyright (c) Ray Shields, 2007
Most recent revision,
20 April 2008